Song of Love
by Nizhonii
Summary: After the original story of the Zodiac there was another, lesser-known tale. While the nightingale may not have a place within the zodiac, she does have a place within the Sohma family. Aikame Sohma wants to venture out of the family estate which has been her cage for years, but she finds out that in order to fly, one must risk the fall. Yuki/OC in future chapters
1. Serendipity

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, The Nightingale, or the song 'When'

In China, a great many years ago, there lived a God, known to many as the Jade Emperor. He had at one time held a banquet for thirteen special animals, although it was missed by one, and yet, they were all bound to him, and invited to stay in his palace. The emperor's palace was the most beautiful in the world. In the garden could be seen the most singular flowers. Indeed, everything in the emperor's garden was remarkable, and it extended so far that the gardener himself did not know where it ended. Those who traveled beyond its limits knew that there was a noble forest, with lofty trees, sloping down to the deep blue sea, and the great ships sailed under the shadow of its branches. In one of these trees lived a nightingale, who sang so beautifully that even the poor fishermen, who had so many other things to do, would stop and listen.

Sunlight streamed through the branches of the forest that surrounded Shigure's house as Tohru took the well traveled path home. She hadn't been scheduled to work that evening and was enjoying her peaceful walk. Neither Kyo nor Yuki walked with her on account of a visit to Kazuma and an impromptu student council meeting, but she really didn't mind. Walking alone allowed her the quiet of her own thoughts.

It was a nice spring afternoon, just warm enough for Tohru to imagine that she could feel the barest hint of summer in the air, which was permeated by the scent of growing grass and new leaves. _All-in-all not a bad smell_, she decided, _It smells of life_.

The sound of birds could be heard above the noise of the wind and Tohru's footsteps. The woods seemed utterly devoid of any human life besides her own so it came as a surprise when she heard a gentle voice being carried on the wind.

Curious, Tohru made her way towards the sound which came from a little ways further down the path. Soon, she came across a young girl, seemingly her own age, sitting in one of the tall trees along the path. Her hair was long and full of wild curls that were an odd mix of dark grey and brown. Unusual, Tohru thought, but certainly not as drastic as Hatsuharu's black and white coloring. The girl also seemed to be a little shorter than average, and wore a simple, dark grey v-neck with long, light blue jeans that were slightly ripped at the hems as if she often stepped upon them. However, it was her lovely voice that Tohru found most captivating. Indeed, it was that voice which had drawn Tohru through the woods.

The girl was resting with her back against the trunk, eyes closed, with a leg thrown casually over the edge of the limb on which she sat, while a dozen or so birds in varying shades of brown and grey roosted in the branches around her (a couple of them had also landed on her shoulders and one very comfortable-looking bird was even nestled in her hair).

Standing at the base of the tree Tohru was finally able to catch some of the lyrics of the song.

"When can I see you again? I've been waiting out here for so long, and I don't seem to find a reason why I keep building these castles out of snow*."

_ The words are so sad and lonely_, Tohru thought, listening quietly, _I wonder if she truly feels that way_. It was then that Tohru took an unconscious step forward and a stray twig made her presence known to the strange girl. The girl immediately stopped, mid-verse, and the small flock of birds around her took flight. She looked around wildly before her gaze landed upon Tohru. At the sight of another person, her eyes widened slightly. Quickly the girl turned, flipping her legs to the opposite side of the branch and dropped lightly to the ground before taking off into the woods.

"Wait! Come back!"

Tohru reacted purely on instinct, running and calling after the fleet-footed girl. However, It wasn't long before Tohru completely lost sight of her in the surrounding underbrush.

Hanging her head in defeat, Tohru slowly retraced her steps to the main path before continuing on to Shigure's.

*The song I Imagined her singing was the song "When" by Susanne Sundfor

A/N:Did you like it? Did you hate it? You should leave a review and tell me what you think!Especially since this is my first shot at fanfiction, and, if I'm being honest, the first time I've written anything for fun.

Also, I generally hate long author note but I think I should at least let you know a little bit of what's going on here. The first Paragraph I used is from a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen called 'The Nightingale' (if you already knew that, kudos for you). I am going to be fitting this story with the story of the Chinese Zodiac from Fruits Basket by making a few alterations here and there, but it really doesn't need that many adjustments to fit well, in my opinion.


	2. Two Roads Diverged

A/N: I'm sorry it took so long to update! There are a couple of reasons why but the biggest ones were: I'm easily distracted, writer's block, and my sister introduced me to Soul Eater... I watched the entire series in three days and I have some ideas hopping around in my mind for stories but the will only come after I feel like I've made good progress on this one.

BTW, This chapter kicked my butt. Even now I am not completely satisfied with it so if you have any suggestions, constructive criticism, or if you see any errors _please_ tell me. I don't have a beta and I really want to make this story good.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, the wonderful story of The Nightingale, or the song Amsterdam by Coldplay. (I also do not own the allusion in the title of this chapter)

* * *

Travelers from every country in the world came to the city of the emperor, including the palace and gardens, but when they heard the nightingale, they all declared it to be the best of all. And the travelers, on their return home, related what they had seen, and learned men wrote books containing descriptions of the town, the palace, and the gardens; but they did not forget the nightingale. Those who could write poetry composed beautiful verses about the nightingale, who lived in a forest near the deep sea. The books traveled all over the world, and some of them came into the hands of the emperor. He sat in his golden chair, and, as he read, he nodded his approval every moment, for it pleased him to find such a beautiful description of his city, his palace, and his gardens. But when he came to the words, "the nightingale is the most beautiful of all," he exclaimed, "What is this? I know nothing of any nightingale. Is there such a bird in my empire? And even in my garden? I have never heard of it!"

* * *

It had only been two days since Tohru had first spotted the mysterious girl. Two whole days and she found that she could not get that voice out of her head. It chased her thoughts around with little snippets of haunting melody, and completely distracted her at the most inopportune times. The music itself was beautiful but the meaning behind it was full of a sadness which only made Tohru sad as well. It filled her with the desire to understand that girl; to make her feel better and give her friendship.

She was walking home along the same road she had used that day. However, today she was accompanied by the almost constant bickering between Kyo and Yuki. Used to their antics, Tohru let their voices fade into the background. Her mind began to wander and a phantom song drifted through her thoughts. It was enough to bring her back to that fateful meeting.

_I wonder who she was and if I will ever see her again._

Tohru let out a little unconscious sigh which immediately had the attention of her two companions.

"Honda-san, if you don't mind my asking...What are you thinking about?"

Yuki looked at Tohru, his large amethyst eyes that seemed to overflow with concern. Tohru paused a moment, as if collecting her thoughts before turning towards the two slightly worried looks with a bright smile.

"What? Oh, nothing really." Laughing a little hysterically and waving off Yuki's comment, she continued, "I was just thinking about someone I met in the woods a few days ago."

It took her a few seconds to realize that both of her companions had stopped walking and were looking at her with identical expressions of horror. It was almost comical to see the two acting so similarly but anxiety was clearly etched onto their faces (along with a couple of other emotions that Tohru couldn't read).

"Let me get this straight..." Kyo began very slowly, his voice bristled with barely contained anger. "You just saw some random person in the woods and decided to go talk to them?!" His voice had risen to a shout by the end of his sentence.

"Yes, but..."

"Honda-san, don't you know how dangerous that can be?" Yuki joined in, voicing his own objections.

"Oh, well... I didn't think..."

"Exactly! You don't think about these things! Jesus Christ, you can be really naive sometimes!"

"You could have been in trouble and neither of us would have been there to keep you safe!"

"Only perverts and psychopaths hang out in the forest!"

"I lived in the forest for a little while."

Her quiet comment brought them both up short. Unsure how to continue, Yuki stepped forward towards Tohru, who had stopped a little ways further down the path. Laying a gentle hand on her shoulder, he let out a sigh. "In the future, perhaps it would be best if you didn't talk to strangers."

Kyo walked forward as well, reclaiming his usual spot on Tohru's left before muttering, "Yeah, and try not to do any stupid stuff unless we're around."

"O-ok, I understand."

Both boys nodded before the three of them continued down the road.

They carried on in silence for a while, Yuki staring off into the woods while Kyo scuffed his shoes in the dirt and kept his hands shoved into his pockets. It came as a surprise to the other two when Kyo stopped suddenly and cocked his head to the side.

"What is it now stupid cat?" Yuki scoffed, stopping as well and crossing his arms.

"Shhh, do you hear that?" Kyo was too distracted to give any notice to Yuki's derogatory comment.

"Hear what exactly?"

"A voice...It sounds like someone...singing?"

It was then that Tohru interrupted, her voice gushing with excitement. "You hear someone singing?! Oh my goodness! What does it sound like? Do You know where it's coming from? How do you..."

Her constant flow of questions was cut off by Kyo's hand shooting out to cover her mouth.

Kyo grit his teeth, as if trying to control his temper, but his voice came out soft, as it usually did when he was talking to Tohru. "If I take my hand away are you going to continue to babble like an idiot?" Tohru shook her head in response. The motion itself was a little awkward considering Kyo's hand was still covering the lower half of her face, but her message was clear and, eventually, he let out a huff and said, "Fine, now try that again, _slowly_."

Tohru blinked her large eyes at Kyo as he gently removed his hand.

"Well," She began a little hesitantly, "It's just that...The person I met was a girl, about our age. She was singing when I saw her so I thought that it might be the same person."

Both boys looked at her in surprise. They clearly hadn't expected the description of Tohru's 'friend' to be so... harmless.

"I suppose we should go and see who it is then" Yuki said and started along the path again.

Kyo and Tohru quickly caught up and soon they were all walking and listening for the phantom voice. It was a few seconds before Yuki could hear the singing (his mouse ears were slightly less sensitive than Kyo's cat ones) and a few minutes before Tohru could as well.

It came from just down and a little to the right of the walkway, that same hauntingly beautiful song that had floated through Tohru's mind for the past two days. She gripped Kyo's arm tightly. "It's her!" came the elated whisper.

Yuki paused a moment, his fist resting thoughtfully against his lower lip. Tohru recognized it as the face he usually made when contemplating a particularly hard math question or when trying to figure out which plants would be ready to harvest soon.

"That voice sounds so familiar but... I can't place it."

The three of them moved closer and soon they were able to see the singer through the foliage. It was in fact, the same girl Tohru had run across only days before. She was sitting similarly to the way Tohru had first seen her: eyes closed with her back resting against the trunk of a tree she had perched in.

Kyo and Yuki crept along the trail, years of martial arts training kicking in as they instinctively quieted their footsteps, using stealth to approach the tree. As they got closer they each took up positions on either side of the branch to keep the girl from running away while Tohru waited a few feet away for fear that her clumsiness would only make some sound and startle the girl again.

Once they had the branch in between them Yuki gently cleared his throat to announce their presence. With a startled squeak the girl sat up, cutting off her song as she looked down at the boys on either side of her seat. Tohru noticed a tiny flash of recognition pass between the girl, Kyo and Yuki.

_Had they met her before?_

What Tohru didn't see was the subtle hardening of the boys expressions. Yuki's eyes shot wide in shock before narrowing in contempt, and Kyo's almost constant aura of anger intensified as he subconsciously clenched his fists.

The girl hadn't yet recovered from her initial shock, but the shadow of some emotion crossed her features so briefly that the others, distracted with their own thoughts, missed it.

Unaware of the tense atmosphere that had descended over the others, Tohru ran towards the tree.

"Hi there," She began, her friendly personality taking over. "I heard you singing a few days ago, but you ran away. You have a very lovely voice. Would you come down so we could introduce ourselves properly?"

The girl looked unsure, her glance shooting between Kyo and Yuki who were both openly glaring at her. She looked back at Tohru, determination set in her features, and nodded once before gripping her branch tightly and swinging herself over it so she was dangling by her arms.

Despite having seen the girl accomplish a similar feat a couple days before, Tohru couldn't help the small gash that escaped her lips as the girl dropped to the forest floor. Standing gracefully, she took a deep breath before turning to face the three people who had her cornered her with her back to the tree she had just been sitting in.

Now that the girl was on the ground, they could see that she about the same height as Tohru and had a similar build. Her face had delicate features that were not overtly beautiful. However, it was her eyes that stood out. They were a vibrant green and reminded Tohru of the forest floor, speckled with sunlight.

She stood there quietly, as if waiting for them to say something.

It came as a shock to everybody when Yuki was the one to speak first.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled. "Spying for Akito?" He spit out the name like poison.

"What?! No!" The girl retorted, trying to hide the hurt expression that covered her face. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves before continuing,"I-I just... needed to get out of the main house for a while."

The boys seemed surprised by this statement.

"Now why would Akito's shadow want out of Sohma house?" Kyo said causticly, crossing his arms.

The girl looked slightly embarrassed and cast her eyes downward.

"It was like... I couldn't breathe in there," she began quietly. "I was out, wandering in the gardens near the very edge of the estate when I saw that there was this cherry tree, just growing up along the wall, so I climbed it. I couldn't really help myself..." She peeked up through her eyelashes, Her glance shifting from Kyo to Tohru, and then, finally, Yuki. "I don't know why I did it or how I ended up here but I needed to get out... Just for a little bit..."

"That was when I last saw you, right?"

The girl gave a small nod as Tohru smiled, trying to ease her discomfort. "Oh, I don't think I've properly introduced my self." Tohru said, friendliness filling her voice. "My name is Tohru Honda. I'm sorry if I frightened you the last time we met, I didn't mean to."

"It's ok, I was startled, that's all." The girl offered a tentative smile in response. "My name is Aikame Sohma."

"So that's how you know Yuki and Kyo!" Tohru exclaimed, obviously excited about meeting another Sohma.

"Yes," Yuki said, joining the conversation again. He had obviously calmed down after his uncharacteristic outburst but his voice still held a frosty edge. "Aikame-san has the family curse as well."

* * *

A/N: Ok, so I know I didn't actually use the song within the story but I think the song Amsterdam by Coldplay works really well with this chapter, the lyrics and music just fit.

Also, I wanted to thank all of you who followed, favorited and/or commented on this story. You all make me feel like I'm doing something right :)

P.S. It doesn't really have any pertinence to these chapters but my story is going to be based more on the anime than the manga. What that basically means is that Akito is male and he is dying of the curse (this won't really matter until later chapters but I just thought you should know).


	3. Questions Answered

A/N: Ok, so I think I told you guys this in my last A/N, but I haven't completely read the manga so this story is more heavily based on the anime with some nods to the manga throughout. Also, I'm going to drop the Japanese pronouns. I have absolutely no relation to/experience with Japanese culture (other than my fondness for sushi). It's just too difficult for me to write the pronouns when I don't exactly know when they are supposed to be used.

Disclaimer:I do not own Fruits Basket or the song The Resolution by Jack's Mannequin

* * *

The emperor then called for one of his lords-in-waiting. "There is a very wonderful bird mentioned here, called a nightingale. They say it is the best thing in my large kingdom. Why have I not been told of it?"

"I have never heard the name," replied the cavalier; "she has not been presented at court."

"It is my pleasure that she shall appear this evening." said the emperor; "the whole world knows what I possess better than I do myself."

"I have never heard of her," said the cavalier; "yet I will endeavor to find her."

* * *

_'You already know of the bond between the jade emperor and the animals of the zodiac, but what do you know of the nightingale?' _

_A young Akito scowled, 'Why should I care about the nightingale? Isn't she just like the other animals? They all have to obey me anyway, what makes her so special?"_

_His maid simply chuckled at his petulant tone. 'The relationship between the nightingale and her emperor runs much deeper than that, for above all else it is the nightingale's duty to love her emperor. She is eternally bound to him.'_

Akito frowned as the words from his past echoed through his head. It was true that he thought of that particular conversation frequently in the years that had passed, but never before had his musings bothered him as they did now. Something seemed off.

Dismissing his growing sense of unease, his thoughts drifted back to the little nightingale. He had known Aikame since childhood. As a baby, she had been brought to live in the main house, where she was cared for by the servants.

Growing up he had always been told how special the nightingale should be to him. It wasn't until a few years later that he actually understood what that meant.

It meant that her loyalty was never a question as it was with the other animals. It meant that she was _his._

Akito was roused from his thoughts by Hatori knocking on the doorframe. He gave a momentary sigh before telling Hatori to "come in" using his typical unconcerned drawl.

Hatori opened the door and crossed the room quickly, going over to where Akito sat with his torso dangling languidly from the window.

"You know you really should leave the window shut," the older man said, sticking his hands into his pockets out of habit. "Especially since the weather is still cold and you could be putting your health in danger."

Akito let out another little sigh, although this time it was slightly permeated with annoyance, but he did as Hatori said, if only for the reason that he was a doctor and it was rather cold out.

"I assume you know the reason for my visit," Hatori said, pulling a stethoscope out of his bag, along with a syringe and a vial of clear liquid.

"Yes, yes" Akito said, waiving off Hatori's question. His temper was wearing thin, as it always did during his daily checkups.

Hatori proceeded with the examination, silently checking Akito's vitals before filling the syringe with the contents of the vial and administering the drug.

With that, the whole process was over and Hatori began to pack his things and made his way towards the door. It was only when he heard Akito call his name that Hatori stopped.

"Hatori... Have you by any chance seen Aikame around the compound?"

To any other person, Akito's voice sounded indifferent, but, having known Akito for years, Hatori was able to detect the coldness in his tone. He would have to find Aikame quickly if she was to escape Akito's ire.

Hatori slowly shook his head "No, I haven't seen her... Perhaps she's in the gardens on the other side of the house?"

"Perhaps..." Akito replied, trailing off into his own thoughts as he stared out the window again.

Taking that as his cue, Hatori left the room, his usually short and concise steps lengthening into long, purposeful strides

* * *

The forest grew uncomfortably silent for a moment following Yuki's statement.

"Aikame has the family curse as well."

Aikame's eyes were wide with shock. How could cold he speak of their secret so casually around this outsider? Her gaze flicked to Tohru, who seemed to be deep in thought.

"That must mean that you're the horse or the rooster right?"

"... What?"

Tohru gave the girl a small smile. "It's just that I've met all of the other animals already so that must mean you're one of the two."

"Aikame isn't part of the traditional zodiac," Yuki interjected. "She's... different."

"Different how?"

"Well, you see..." Aikame began, fidgeting nervously "Being the nightingale means that I still have the same aspects of the curse as everyone else. I can't hug any one of the opposite gender or else I'll change, but the nightingale has an additional characteristic. She-"

"She just has to be Akito's friggin' lap dog," Kyo chimed in, idly leaning against a tree, his body language contrasting dramatically with his biting insult.

Aikame fell silent. She knew that most of the other animals associated her with Akito, but she didn't realize that they actually /hated/ her for it until now.

Catching her lip between her teeth, she lowered her head and tried to fight the hurt feeling already spreading through her chest. "I should probably be going." Her voice came out in a choked whisper.

She turned and began to dart away, but was brought up short by a surprisingly strong voice behind her. "Wait!"

She looked back at the trio that was now facing her. While Kyo and Yuki seemed very closed off, Tohru had her hands clasped together in front of her and her voice had a slight pleading tone to it. "Will I see you again?"

Despite Aikame's desire to be gone, her mouth quirked up into a kind of half smile. "Maybe" she called back, as she ran off in the opposite direction.

_I hope so_, Tohru thought.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, so this chapter is kind of short, sorry :/

First of all-I would like to thank **KristenMarie09** who's reviewed both of my chapters so far. It really encourages me to write when I know that you want to read more :)

Also, Guest who reviewed chapter 2: *hugs* It makes me really happy to know that you're liking the story so far!

And a big thanks to those of you who've added alerts to this story: **KristenMarie09, Kunoichijay, Zora and Phoenix, crazy YinYang writer7, and kateatslasvegas.** I know that this story is merely a work in progress, but I hope you all enjoy it :)

Second of all-I had a bit of a hard time picking out a song for this chapter. It's a hard chapter to categorize, but It is _very important_ in the grand scheme of this story.

I finally decided on The Resolution by Jack's Mannequin. I think that the first verse fits with where Aikame is right now and the rest of the song vaguely covers where I want to take this story (spoilers) :)

That's it! If you like this story and want to make my day, please leave a contribution in the little box! Conversely, If you see something that you think I can improve on and you want to let me know, tell me! I accept all comments and I love constructive criticism almost as much as I love other reviews.


	4. Comfort

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket of the song Echo by Jason Walker

* * *

But where was the nightingale to be found? The nobleman went up stairs and down, through halls and passages; yet none of those whom he met had heard of the bird. So he returned to the emperor, and said that it must be a fable, invented by those who had written the book. "Your imperial majesty," said he, "cannot believe everything contained in books; sometimes they are only fiction."

"But the book in which I have read this account," said the emperor, "was sent to me by the great and mighty emperor of Japan, and therefore it cannot contain a falsehood. I will hear the nightingale, she must be here this evening; she has my highest favor; and if she does not come, the whole of the court shall be punished."

"Tsing-pe!" cried the lord-in-waiting, and again he ran up and down stairs, through all the halls and corridors; and half the court ran with him, for they did not like the idea of being punished. There was a great inquiry about this wonderful nightingale, whom all the world knew, but who was unknown to the court.

* * *

Aikame jogged around the perimeter of the Sohma estate until she found what she was looking for. An old cherry tree had grown up along the inner wall, but its branches hung over, providing the perfect hand hold if one were able to reach them. Taking a couple steps back, she ran towards the wall, using her momentum to propel herself up as her hands stretched towards the rough bark.

She felt her heart stop as, for a moment she feared she would fall, but her leap proved true. She seized ahold of the branch, and pulled herself up until she had reached the top of the wall.

She sat there for a moment, enjoying the tranquility of the gardens. It was strange, she thought, how a household containing so much turmoil could appear so peaceful.

Soon enough, she decided that it was time to get down. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't want to be caught anywhere near the walls, let alone sitting on them. She knew Akito would be upset if word got back to him, and, while she didn't fear for her own safety, worried that he might take his anger out on someone else.

With her mind made up, she moved forward until she felt her weight tip her over the ledge and into the estate. She landed on the balls of her feet, smiling slightly. She had always enjoyed the sensation of falling, for a few brief seconds; it felt as if she were…flying.

But that would be preposterous; she had never flown a day in her life. As it was, she had only ever transformed into her animal form once. The one and only time her father had ever held her after she was born.

A short bark of laughter made its way past her lips. It was so ironic. She was the nightingale and didn't even know how to fly. Hell, Kureno was the rooster and _he_ could fly. She sighed. But then again, he wasn't bound as tightly as she was.

She stood, brushing the dirt from her jeans as she moved towards the house.

She had just passed one of the many alcoves in the garden when she heard someone clear their throat, obviously trying to get her attention. She froze. She would have known who it was even if it weren't for the cloying sweetness of cigarette smoke filling the air.

"Well look who finally came back," the person said before taking an especially long drag of their smoke.

"I don't know what you're talking about Hatori, I never left."

Her back was still turned towards him so she couldn't see his face but she could practically feel the scowl that marred his features. Of course, this also meant she wasn't able to see the annoyance that flashed through his eyes as he dropped his cigarette butt and crushed it under his heal.

"You know I can tell when you're lying. When was the last time that you ever got away with something you knew you weren't supposed to be doing?"

"…"

"Exactly. Now, I'm only going to ask this once; what were you doing outside the estate?"

"…"

"Well?"

Aikame's eyes burned with unshed tears. Without warning, she turned towards Hatori, taking a few strides forward before wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her face in his shirt. His eyes widened momentarily, caught off-guard by the sudden embrace, but after a few seconds he relaxed into the hold and placed a comforting hand on the girl's head.

"What happened?"

Pulling back, Aikame looked into his eye that remained un-obscured by his hair. She took a ragged breath, refusing to cry as she related the events of the past few days. After she was done, she held her breath, waiting for his response.

"Hatori?.. I want to go back…out, I mean. Staying in here is driving me crazy, and, sometimes, I feel like the walls are closing in and I'm suffocating." She clenched her eyes shut, and dropping her head. "Hatori, please…I don't think I can handle having to remain cooped up for very much longer." She glanced back at him, watching as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It sounds as if you might have a mild case of claustrophobia. " He let out an exasperated sigh. "Come on," he said, moving past Aikame and back towards the main house, "we need to talk to Akito and figure out someway for you to be able to leave the compound."

"Thank you Ha'ri!" Aikame exclaimed, using her childhood nickname for the dragon. She followed him back to the house with a little extra spring in her step as she hoped against hope for a favorable answer.

* * *

*The song that I thought would work really well with this section was Echo by Jason Walker, It reflects Aikame's feelings, even if she tries to keep them locked up.

A/N: Wow, ok... so this took way longer for me to update than I thought it would. I am truly sorry, dear readers, if you find this erratic updating schedule disconcerting, but I can only write when inspiration strikes me. :( However, I _will_ be completing this. I've set my mind to it... although we still have quite a-ways to go. But worry not dear reader, most of my chapters will be relatively short, allowing the story to progress more swiftly.

Once again: Thank you to all of my totally amazing followers. It warms my heart whenever I see someone likes my work :)


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